Eric Hinkle and his friend Julie carefully pulled open a small door under the stairs in his basement.

Errr-errrk! The door’s old hinges squeaked.

Behind the door was a small, dark closet, with a single unlit lightbulb hanging from the ceiling.

“Isn’t it weird how it looks just like a regular closet?” asked Julie.

Eric grinned. “It is a regular closet. To everyone else.”

But to Eric, Julie, and their friend Neal, it was more than just a closet. It was the entrance to another world.

The magical world of Droon.

Actually, it was Julie who had first dis-covered the entrance to Droon.

She’d just gone into the closet, when suddenly the door closed behind her, the light went out, and — whoosh! — a long, shimmering staircase appeared where the floor had been.

The kids were scared, of course.

But the staircase looked so beautiful they just had to see what was at the bottom.

On their first visit to Droon, they met a young princess named Keeah who was now one of their best friends.

They’d also met a good wizard named Galen Longbeard and his spider troll helper, Max.

Galen was teaching Keeah to be a wizard, too.

Together with Keeah and Galen, the kids had battled a wicked sorcerer named Lord Sparr, a strange witch called Demither, and lots of other nasty creatures who were always trying to take over Droon.

The best part was that Eric and his friends seemed to be helping Keeah keep Droon free.

“I asked you over,” Eric said to Julie, “because I think we need to keep the closet in good working condition. After all, it’s our only way into Droon.”

“Great idea,” said Julie. “If the door squeaks too much, your parents will hear us. And Galen told us always to keep Droon a secret.”

“I’ll put in a fresh lightbulb,” said Eric.

“You can oil the hinges. I asked Neal to

come and sweep up, but he’s late.”

“As usual!” Julie said with a laugh.

She took an oilcan from the work-bench. Standing on her toes, she began oiling the door’s hinges. Eric searched the nearby cabinets for a new lightbulb to re-place the old one.

As they worked, Eric recalled their latest visits to Droon. He and his friends had had many adventures. But they’d also un-covered many mysteries.

For one thing, Keeah said she remembered being in the Upper World — Eric’s world — a long time ago.

But that didn’t seem possible.

Then, Keeah was told that Witch Demither secretly gave her some powers. Witch powers!

Keeah didn’t remember that at all.

“Hey, Eric,” said Julie, bending down to oil the lower hinges, “what do you think witch powers are like?”

“I was just thinking about that!” said Eric.

“I mean, are they dark and dangerous like Lord Sparr’s?” she asked. “Or more like the sort of natural wizard things Galen can do?”

“I don’t know.” Eric found a new light-bulb and took it to the closet. “But wouldn’t it be weird if there was a connection be-tween Keeah being here and having witch powers? I wonder if Galen knows.”

“Galen’s five hundred and forty-two years old!” said Julie. “If he doesn’t know, who does?”

Eric shrugged. “Maybe we will. If we ever get to Droon again.”

He glanced at a soccer ball sitting on the workbench. After their first visit to Droon, Keeah had put a spell on it. When the ball floated in the air, it meant the staircase

would be open for them.

“I can’t wait to go —” Eric began.

Just then, four furry white paws trotted past the window. They were followed by two beat-up sneakers.

“Get back here!” cried a familiar voice.

“Woof!” came the response.

“It’s Neal,” said Eric.

“And Snorky,” added Julie. Then she laughed. “Looks like Neal’s having trouble with him . . . again.”

“We’d better help him out!” said Eric. The two kids dropped everything and rushed up the basement stairs, through the kitchen, and out to the backyard.

When they got there, Neal was on all fours, nose to nose with Snorky, trying to grab him.

Julie giggled. “It looks like you’re dancing!”

“It’s not funny,” Neal groaned as Snorky romped away to sniff a tree. “I was teaching him to fetch when he escaped!”

Eric tried to trap Snorky from behind. “What was he fetching?”

“A box of cookies,” Neal said.

Julie shook her head. “Only you would think of teaching a dog to fetch food for you.”

Neal grinned. “What can I say? I’m a genius.”

“Hey, genius, your dog just ran into my house!” said Eric. He jumped up the steps and into the kitchen.

Inside, Snorky skittered under the table and headed down the hall at top speed, tracking dirty paw prints the whole way.

“Not the living room!” said Eric. “My mom just vacuumed!”

“We’ll trap him in the hall,” Neal shouted, dashing through the kitchen.

Eric and Julie tore around the other way. But Eric slipped on the carpet, slid across the floor, and crashed down — ka-thunk! — taking Julie and a large house-plant with him.

The plant spilled dirt all over the carpet.

“Woof! Woof!” barked Snorky as he turned and shot down the stairs to the basement.

“Oh, no!” said Eric, scrambling to his feet. “What if Snorky gets into the closet?”

“Let’s get down there right away!” said Julie.

But when they entered the basement, they stopped short.

Julie gasped softly. “Oh, my gosh!”

The soccer ball was floating in the air over the workbench.

“Keeah needs us in Droon,” said Eric. “That means the stairs will be open for us.”

“And for Snorky —” said Neal. “Uh-oh!”

The three friends spun around to see Snorky’s curly tail disappear behind the closet door.

Click. The door closed softly.

“Yikes!” cried Neal. “He’s going to Droon!”

“But he can’t unless the light is out,” said Eric.

He pulled open the door. The light was out.

“Oh, man! I didn’t put the new bulb in!”

Below them, the stairs were shimmer-ing in a rainbow of colors. And Snorky was prancing down them, his tail wagging happily.

“Come back here, you,” said Julie.

The three friends dashed down the stairs, but Snorky began to run. “Woof! Woof!” he barked.

“He thinks it’s a game!” moaned Neal.

As they descended through the clouds, the sky over Droon was turning from black to purple.

“It’s just before morning,” said Julie. “It should be getting light soon.”

They jumped off the bottom of the staircase and looked around. Dusty brown mountains surrounded them on every side.

“It looks like the Panjibarrh hills,” said Eric. “We’ve been here before. . . .”

“Never mind that,” said Neal, scanning the rocky ground. “Where’s Snorky? Snorky! Get back here. You need to go home —”

Then the staircase faded. The kids knew it would not reappear until it was time to go home.

“Too late to send Snorky back,” said Julie.

Grrrr. Something was growling from behind a rock.

“Snorky?” said Eric cautiously. “Is that you?”

Grrrr! The growling was louder this time.

“Here, puppy,” said Neal softly. “Here —”

A head peered from behind the rock.

But it wasn’t Snorky’s head.

It was large and gray. Its features were craggy and its skin was rough, as if it were very old.

Grrrr! Another head, the same as the first, jerked up from behind the rock.

“There are two of them!” said Eric, backing up. “Oh, man, we are cooked!”

The first head moved out from behind the rock and the second one moved with it. That’s when they saw that both heads were on the same neck!

“That’s definitely not Snorky,” said Neal.

The beast growled, opening both sets of jaws. Four rows of huge fangs dripped a thick, yellow liquid.

Julie stepped back. “That is so — ewww!”

“Don’t make it mad,” Eric whispered.

GRR-RRR! The twin heads roared again.

“Too late for that,” mumbled Neal.

The creature stomped toward them, then stood for a moment, roaring and growling.

Then it leaped at them.